Up-and-downs open Championship!
Anniversary in the Championship! The British lower house in its current form turns 20 years old this season. The new season kicks off on Friday evening with Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton! Which tip the betting base has in store can be read in the following text.
In the XXL League with 24 teams, no less than 552 regular matches are on the schedule – plus another five play-off matches for promotion to the Premier League. The visitors are relegated from the latter league. The “Saints”, however, have now set their sights on an immediate return to the British top flight.
The new coach, Russell Martin, knows the Championship inside out, as the 37-year-old Scotsman was previously under contract with Swansea. For the opening match at Hillsborough between Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton, the forecast is for a draw.
Sheffield Wednesday – Statistics & current form
While the visitors start the new Championship season as relegated teams, the home side are promoted from League One. The jump to the top was hard to beat in terms of drama.
Within the play-offs, Sheffield, third in the regular season, first beat Peterborough, turning around a 4-0 first leg deficit with a 6-1 second leg win in front of their own fans!
Wednesday followed up this already historic comeback in English football with another memorable game in the final against Barnsley. The final was won by the narrowest of margins with a Josh Windass goal in the third minute of extra time at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Despite promotion, the coach was changed
A parallel to the upcoming opponents is the replacement of the coach’s bench. The Spaniard Xisco has now taken his place on the bench. An unusual move after his predecessor Darren Moore brought the club promotion but subsequently failed to agree a contract extension with club officials.
As a player, the new Iberian coach won the UEFA Cup and the Spanish title with the “bats” from Valencia. He has also won a title as a coach with Dinamo Tbilisi.
He won the national championship in 2020 with the Georgian team, where he was also a player. Most recently, he coached the Cypriots of Anorthosis Famagusta, albeit for only a few months due to a lack of results.
Newcomer with moderate preparation
In preparation, the four-time English champions, last 93 years ago, also presented moderate performances. The past three test matches, such as against Eldense, a Spanish club that has also been promoted to the second division, as well as against Doncaster Rovers from the fourth-tier League Two in England, were lost in each case.
The attack of the three-time FA Cup winners has been particularly disappointing recently. Both of the aforementioned defeats were accompanied by a clean sheet for the opponents and before that, only a goalless draw against the Spanish third division side from Murcia was recorded.
Given this unconvincing form of the home attacking line-up, the prediction of only one goal for the “Owls” in Sheffield Wednesday’s clash against Southampton also seems promising.
Predicted Sheffield Wednesday line-up:
Sheffield Wednesday (Expected line-up) 4-3-3
Southampton – Statistics & current form
The visitors’ club anthem “When the Saints go marching in”, based on the gospel song, means Southampton will only be entering Championship stadiums for the time being this season. As last-place finishers in the Premier League last season, the South Coast side deserved their relegation.
In order to improve the situation, important players in the squad, such as the captain James Ward-Prowse, were retained. The visitors should not have any major teething problems. On the other hand, the 1984 runners-up, like their upcoming opponents, were not very successful in the test matches.
Southampton only managed to win one of five preparatory games (1-1-3). The only victory came against Reading, who are also based in the Championship.
Defence not convincing in preparation
The visitors’ defence in particular showed room for improvement in the test matches. In none of these five games did they manage a clean sheet. Instead, Southampton’s backline conceded an average of no less than two goals.
With this in mind, despite the aforementioned attacking problems of the home side in their pre-season games, tips and odds on a two-sided goal celebration are worth recommending for the Sheffield-Southampton clash. Quotes for this extra prediction are available at Bet365, for example.
The expectation that the visitors will also strike at least once is again based on the comparatively better attacking performances of the 1976 FA Cup winners. Southampton were denied a goal in the first test match against Benfica Lisbon alone, as well as in the last one against Alkmaar, and the St. Mary’s Stadium side scored a whopping seven goals in their final four preparation matches.
Predicted Southampton line-up:
Southampton (Expected line-up) 4-2-3-1
Sheffield Wednesday – Southampton Direct comparison / H2H record
The last direct clash between the clubs took place in November last year within the EFL Cup in Southampton. On that occasion, the Saints beat Wednesday on penalties.
It was the first meeting in more than ten years. In addition, five guest appearances by the footballers from the south coast can be discovered in Sheffield this millennium and the balance is even with two wins and defeats each and a draw.
Sheffield Wednesday – Southampton Tip
Sheffield had two promotions to celebrate in the city after last season. While United were promoted to the Premier League, Wednesday managed to make it into the British lower house thanks to a very lucky play-off phase. The Saints will now kick off their campaign against a PL relegated side.
The prediction for the clash between Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton is a draw. Both teams have rarely been convincing in preparation and the home side’s attacking problems in the test matches will be offset by the visitors’ recently very shaky backline.
Furthermore, the visitors can be considered to have a stronger game, but the home advantage for SWFC equally irons out this advantage. In their first second league match in front of their own fans and after the already legendary 6:1 against Peterborough in the last home match during the relegation before the summer break, the home players will undoubtedly be extra motivated.
There is therefore no real favourite, which is why, as in last November’s EFL Cup clash, a draw after 90 minutes looks likely.
